[Wednesday, September 17] Lou Reed loves ’em. So does Roky Erickson, and so will you (if you donaE™t already). Based in Austin, Texas, and named after a Russian short story, Okkervil RiveraE™s roots reach back a decade to frontman and songwriter Will Sheff’s small New Hampshire hometown. Now they’re back with a new set of songs; their fifth album, The Stand Ins, was released this week. Sheff is a unique talent, with a distinctive, emotive voice that’s always front and center, and lyrics that function like short stories and are notable for their wordplay and dark wit. With Sea Wolf, Zykos. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m. $16 adv./$18 DOS. Listen to Lost Coastlines.

[Thursday, September 18] On the rarest of occasions, just when you need it most, the universe will conspire to get you wasted. You’ll arrive at the bar and find a missing twenty scrunched tight in your jean pocket, you’ll order talls and instead be served doubles, your friend will pass a joint and after a puff you’ll learn it’s the stuff they got from Snoop. Le Sexy is the perfect evening to increase your karmic buzz odds. Aside from giving me my first hardcore hangover in many years, Jackie Hell’s last freak fest, which included a cavalcade of old school Seattle ladies of the evening,aE neon thongs, electrical tape pasties, Halloween-masked humping and some crazy good punk rock, was the most fun I’ve had in ages and was responsible for adding the saying tastes like a tranny’s wig to my lexicon of over-used phrases. King Cobra, 916 E. Pike St. 9 p.m.

[Thursday, September 18] Where would Common be without Be, his aE™05 disc? Or perhaps a better question is: Where would the Chi-town poet of body and soul and, yes, streets, be without his fellow Chicagoan Kanye West, who produced all but two of the albumaE™s 11 tracks? West turned CommonaE™s often esoteric sound into a palatable mAclange of tasty grooves and driving beats. Best part is, WestaE™s production didnaE™t take away CommonaE™s essential humanity and commitment to truth. Same goes for N.E.R.D.aE™s best disc so far, aE™04aE™s Fly or Die, which combined some lovely laments with Sly and the Family Stone inventiveness. Showbox SODO,1700 First Ave. S., 382-7877. 8 p.m., $37.50 adv, $40 dos. All ages. Listen to CommonaE™s The People.

The Raconteurs[Friday, September 19] Do I really need to convince you to go see Jack White in concert? Really? Regardless of which band of his is your favorite, or whether you think The Raconteurs’ Consolers of the Lonely is an evolutionary step in the band’s blistering, southern-inspired rockage, or exactly like the White Stripes but with more penis, the reality is at the end of the day you’re still getting to see Jack White. With a guitar. Playing it. God, you’re so needy sometimes. WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave. S. 8 p.m. All ages. Listen to Steady as She Goes.

[Friday, September 19] Is your separation from nature starting to get you down? Does the steaming cup of Starbucks clutched in your hand cause a pain deeper than the epidermal burn from its content? Have no fear, because the requisite, conscious-cleansing benefit show of the week is here. Co-Ops Rock!, a concert series attempting to raise funds for supporting sustainable food initiatives while creating a strong linkage between music and food co-ops in a way that elevates the appeal of co-ops among the younger generation, will be luring in those impressionable youth in this week with The National and special guests Menomena. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 443-1744. 8 p.m. $22 adv, $25 dos. All ages. Listen to MenomenaaE™s Wet and Rusting.

[Saturday, September 20] Back in the late aE˜80s and early aE˜90s, I was hooked on Amphetamine Records and the noise rock and weirdo punk they were putting out. For a couple years there, I snapped up tons of their releases aE” from the likes of Halo of Flies, Lubricated Goat, Tar, and others aE” and it was then that I discovered the genius of guitarist/singer Helios Creed, who at the time was putting out an album a year on the label. His was a completely mind-blowing and utterly unique combination of space-rock, way-fucked-up psychedelia and acid-punk, noise-rock, and industrial chaos, created with a vast array of guitar pedals and bizarre sonic experiments. Word is this might be the 54-year-oldaE™s last tour, so if you were ever interested, now is time to check him out. With Father Murphy, Vast Void. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N., 374-8400. 9:30 p.m., $10. Listen to Got To Have Someone.

[Sunday, September 21] Carcass has reanimated after a 12-year dirt nap with its classic lineup intact, save drummer Dave Owen, because itaE™s just not physically possible for anyone, let alone someone recovering from a brain hemorrhage, to get back to the blast-beat grind after such a lengthy layoff. Bill Steer, who possesses the most serpentine voice in hard rockaE™s snake pit, uses medical-textbook language to describe elaborate horror-film tortures, while he and Michael Amott play death-metal riffs as dauntingly technical as their lyrical terminology. With Suffocation, Aborted, Rotten Sound, 1349. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 6 p.m., $42 adv., $45 dos. All ages. Listen to Buried Dreams.

[Sunday, September 21] Welsh band Stereophonics made a splash in the States a decade ago with their debut album, Word Gets Around, which was among the finer discs of the Oasis-led Brit-pop movement of the mid-to-late aE˜90s, not to mention their excellent live show. Singing the small-town blues, frontman Kelly Jones possessed a compelling rasp, a knack for keen observation and character study and a love for classic Brit-rock. With People In Planes. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m., $20 adv, $22 dos. Listen to It Means Nothing.

[Monday, September 22] Laibach can make any song conform to their engaging/disturbing militaristic aesthetic. They transformed QueenaE™s aEœOne Vision,aE a giddy utopian ditty inspired by Live Aid and featured in Iron Eagle, into a faux-fascist rally, with a stentorian German delivery darkening lines like aEœone race/one hope/one real decision.aE They turned EuropeaE™s cheesy synthfest aEœThe Final CountdownaE into Wagnerian propaganda, albeit with a disco pulse. And they made The Rolling StonesaE™ aEœSympathy for the DevilaE so terrifyingly ominous that listeners might suspect Satan himself is indeed the vocalist. Formed in 1980, the Slovenian band mixes strident industrial beats with operatic bombast, resulting in some of the most epic dance songs ever assembled. With DJ Larry aEœTitoaE Reid, DJ Charles, aEœChetnixaE Krafft. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m., $18 adv, $20 dos. Listen to The Final Countdown.